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Show IV , I Community I Comments I I'm afraid skiing is the last new area sport I'm going to take up. I have always considered myself something of an out-doorsman, out-doorsman, and have been involved in-volved in a lot of sports activities ac-tivities over the years. A rapid rap-id glance back over those years doesn't develop much more than enjoyable remembrances. remem-brances. But when I take the time to really analyze my involvement in-volvement in area sports, I'm amazed that my bad luck hasn't put me on the sidelines long ago. I'd almost' forgotten my first attempt at boating, until this week. . Hack in 1957, when plans for the first Friendship Cruise were being made, Art Redd and I decided we would make the trip, although neither, nei-ther, of us had ever driven a boat before. With a $300 fishing fish-ing scow and borrowed motor, mot-or, we , put in the water at Green River, and in front of 150 spectators, started the motor, put it in reverse, backed arpund in a circle, hit the dock and sheared a pin.. L, . Undaunted, we repaired the damage and 1 headed downstream down-stream (even though going up the Green in a test run, we cpuld do little more than hold our own with the current). cur-rent). . The home-made rig only made it to a lonely sand Obar a little upstream from The Slide, and we spent a cold night or two awaiting rescue, without food, and a little embarassed. . After the rescue a day or two latfet' were were being congratulated on getting back safely. Jack Payiw, who was and is a well qualified qual-ified boater, commented that no really good boaters ware ; worried about us, since everything ' but driftwood drift-wood had passed us on the trip, and most knew about where we were. .Then I tried jeeping. Anxious Anx-ious to be in on the first Rotary Club Safari, I bought a second (or third) hand station sta-tion wagon, loaded up my friends and headed out. It was dark by the time we arrived ar-rived at Cave Springs in the Needles, but no one told me we should never head up Salt Creek after dark particularly particu-larly in a rainstorm, with a foot of flood water in the .anyon. Somehow we made it ' without incident, to Angel Arch, about 10 p.m. No problems prob-lems to this point. Flood waters in the running parts must have taken a toll, however, because the next : day, on the wrong side of Elephant Hill, a piston came apart in little pieces, we lost pressure and a motor mount broke. Helpful friends nursed us back to Moab. One deviation from the bad luck pattern was golf. I tried golf and nothing happened. Absolutely nothing. That was the problem. After two years , with no improvement, I gave it up. t I shouldn't have been surprised sur-prised at 'my problems tha first attempt at skiing. And actually, they weren't so bad in retrospect. In fact, there are some good points i to bring out people I don't j even know have stopped me on the street this week to -Visit, apparently recognizing recogniz-ing me from the picture of my leg in last week's T-l. I received one letter to the i cditor, however, that should be printed here. It was from Mil Pimpll, who should know better than to josh me about my outdoors activities, hav-i hav-i ing been involved in some of em with me himself. Mil "faid: I "Let's have complete news overage - showing the Tay-Legs Tay-Legs okey, but next week lease, picture of Pinker -n's Purple Posterior!" We tried, Mil, but the pic-res pic-res didn't come out. Sam Taylor |